Super Bowl notebook: LB Phillips made smart move to Denver

Updated 1:06 am, Wednesday, January 29, 2014

RIGHT CHOICE: Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips wasn't invited back to San Diego when his contract expired, so he signed with Denver. Smart move. His second choice was the Texans.

"My plan was Houston," said Phillips, who had 10 sacks this season. "Houston really wanted me, and they showed a lot of interest.

"In my mind, the two best teams in the AFC were Houston and Denver. Obviously, Houston had a bad year, but they're a really good team. It was between these two teams, and, luckily, I made the right choice."

WHAT LEGACY?: Fans and media love to speculate about what a victory or loss would mean to Peyton Manning's legacy.

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"I've been asked about my legacy since I was 25 years old, which I'm not sure you can have a legacy when you are 25 years old, or even 37," Manning said. "I thought you had to be 70 to have a legacy.

"I'm not 100 percent sure what the word even means. I'm down the homestretch of my career, but I'm still in it. This has been the second chapter of my career, and it is an exciting chapter."

ELWAY CHIMES IN: John Elway, the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations, was happy to talk about Manning's legacy.

Elway was asked about the importance of Manning winning a second Super Bowl.

"I think that when people say that, they're looking for something," Elway said. "Because he had such a tremendous year, what else are you going to talk about Peyton Manning that's negative other than, `Okay, we've got to go to his legacy'?

"I don't think this game, one way or the other, affects his legacy the way that he has played. He's going to be one of the all-time greats no matter what. Legacies don't get great until you're done. That's when people start talking."

MESSAGE TO MANNING: Elway won his two Super Bowl rings in the last two years of his career with Denver. At 38, he was the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

Getting Manning in orange was the hallmark of Elway's early tenure as a front-office executive.

"I just tried to show him what the Broncos are all about," Elway said. "I think he was still in shock that he'd gotten released by Indianapolis, and it was a tough situation there.

"We tried to show him what our staff was about, what we had to offer, the ability for us to be able to blend our offense to what he was used to doing, the young guys we had on the roster and what the Rocky Mountain region was all about.

"I felt really good about our story, and I'm glad he saw it the same way."

HARVIN READY TO GO: Seattle wide receiver Percy Harvin was cleared of his concussion symptoms late last week, and Tuesday he verified that he's a full-go for the Super Bowl.

"I'm feeling fine," Harvin said. "I feel normal. I have been practicing well. I'm just happy to be here."

An offseason acquisition from Minnesota, Harvin has only appeared in two games with Seattle. When healthy, he's an electric playmaker, as evidenced by his 29 touchdowns in four seasons with the Vikings.

He said Tuesday that he has no lingering effects from the concussion, suffered in the divisional round versus New Orleans.

"I'm focusing on the things I can control," Harvin said. "I took the steps and followed the protocol and everything worked out for the best. I'm glad."

CAMERA-HAPPY: Doug Baldwin wasn't the only Seahawk with a camera Tuesday.

"Really I thought it would be a great idea to try to film my experience through my eyes, literally through my eyes, for the 12's," Tate said. "They've supported us all year and we appreciate it so much. I figured this would be a small way for me to give back and for the people that aren't able to make it out, they can see this. I'm looking forward to editing it out and moving forward with it."

Tate appeared to have some fun with the wild day of interviews. Marshawn Lynch, on the other hand, did not. Lynch, who avoided media for most of the season until the league threatened him with a $50,000 fine, reportedly bolted after 6Â½ minutes. He returned, and did a short NFL Network interview with Deion Sanders.

According to the transcript on NFL.com, Sanders asked Lynch if he was camera-shy.

The running back's reply: "I'm just about that action, boss."

TOUGH NOT TO RESPECT: The often outspoken Seattle defense has had only kind words for Denver this week.

And that's not too surprising, because it's pretty difficult to criticize the most prolific offense in league history.

"The game is so slow to Peyton (Manning) because he has seen it," said Seahawks safety Earl Thomas. "That's why he is so in control and he can take his time. I think he installed the offense, so he's definitely in control of that offense. He understands how the defense wants to attack him, and we know how he wants to attack us. That's why it's going to be such a great matchup."

Although Denver's passing attack set all the records, Seattle safety Kam Chancellor has respect for the running game, too. Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball combined for 2,290 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns in the regular season.

"I see a physical running back, an athletic running back," Chancellor said. "I've seen (Moreno) jump over a few guys, so he's an athletic running back. Runs hard, runs behind his pads. I see an O-line that is really physical, want to push. But they all play together. They know each other well and you can tell. They play together and it's unique. I'm just ready for the challenge."